Parenting
by iAir Nomad
Summary: A series of mini-oneshots involving our two favorite boys, in which thirteen years after the fall of No.6 (as we knew it), Nezumi and Shion decide to adopt. As expected, Shion is the gentle, loving parent who spoils his kids too much and lays down the rules. And Nezumi... well, has no experience with kids, so he's just awkward. Hey, adopting was /mostly/ the airhead's idea.
1. Hair-Brushing

**Because No.6 and Nezushi parenting-headcanons have ruined my life.**

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"Come on, Nezumi, _please_ help Safu with her hair, I have to finish making their breakfast!"

The addressed sighed — a well-known breath of complaint without actually complaining — as he shut his book harshly, dragging himself up into a seated position on the couch, then gestured for his six-year-old daughter to come closer. "I thought I'd be able to enjoy my book, it looked like you had everything under control." He called teasingly to the other man rushing about in the kitchen across the way.

"Nezumi." Shion pressed.

"Here, give me the brush, Safu. _Jiro_, stop pulling her hair. Get your schoolbag packed, I'm not about to let you be late on your _first day of school _just cause you like your sister's hair so much." Nezumi said, tossing a half-hearted warning glare to his eldest son, only two years ahead of his sister. The boy released a loud groan but nevertheless complied with his father's command, scurrying off up the stairs to grab his bag in his room. Nezumi turned back to face the wild tangle of ivory-black hair atop his daughter's head and lifted the brush in an attempt to smooth it out.

"You need to make sure your brother doesn't bully you around like that, Safu. Especially at school, we can't be there for you. Stand firm and strong for yourself, but don't pick any fights and get in trouble, just show him in your own way whose boss." Nezumi said sternly while he worked on a particularly troubling area of tangles.

"I try but then he — _OW! _Dad, you're brushing too hard!" The little girl whined, raising her hands up instinctively to protect her head.

"Got it. Sorry. I'll try to brush a little gentler." Nezumi murmured, smiling softly. God, he was absolutely not used to this. Shion was the one with the magic hand. That fact was proven to him once more when his daughter moaned painfully and pressed her little hands to her head again, scrunching up her face.

Nezumi sighed with heavy exasperation, tossing the brush on the other end of the couch. _"Shion! _Can you do this and I'll take care of the rest of breakfast?"

"Throwing in the towel already?" Shion called back, fighting the urge to laugh at the hopeless expression Nezumi was wearing.

"Apparently she needs her precious mama's gentle hands."

Shion appeared in the doorway and stalked over to the couch with a slight pout. "Don't fill me in with a female role. We're both wearing the pants in this relationship."

"Shion, nobody would believe that for a second even just by looking at you. You're cute, like a girl, and it matches your personality. You fit the feminine role quite well. Besides, who's the one called 'Dad' here and 'Dad_dy?'_" Nezumi smirked.

The white-haired man rolled his eyes. "Just go finish the cooking. I'll handle this."

"Yes, your majesty."


	2. Memory Lane

"Dad, can you tell me how you and daddy met?" Little Safu questioned one warm, spring afternoon, grinning eagerly. She loved it when Shion told her stories. It had to be the same with Nezumi, right? He _is_ an actor, after all.

Nezumi blinked over at her from where he stood at the stove (cooking her up a snack until Shion came home with more groceries for dinner, anyway), the only sound filling the kitchen being the hot sizzle of cooking scrambled eggs. "Ah… _well,_" He cleared his throat, trying to compile the right sentences in his brain, though he couldn't think of anything that sounded less awkward than the actual event, itself. "Well, we were both twelve years old at the time. Shion was a total airhead — he still is — and threw open the window in the middle of a typhoon. He did this hilarious stunt where he raced out onto the balcony and _screamed_ with all his might into the winds, assuming that nobody heard him. Hah! But I did. Oh, I sure did." Nezumi grinned, his eyes clouding distantly with remembrance.

"What were you doing there?" Safu questioned, kicking her legs under the table and resting her baby face atop crossed arms, peering up at him with an adorable curiosity that made his heart honestly melt a little.

"Planning my next move. I was, uh… an escaped convict. Well, at least they labeled me as that. And I just, kind of… climbed up to his deck and went inside. His open doors were an invitation to me…" Nezumi glared and mentally slapped himself. What a bad influence he was, telling his child this. Next thing he knows, she'll be throwing doors and windows all over the place in their house like it was no big deal and not get an invitation for love, but a _murder. _Honestly.

Nezumi turned to her after a rather long, awkward silence at the story, and just as awkwardly brandished his spatula at her, panic settling in at her thoughtful expression. "Don't you dare open any windows for _anything, _Safu, I mean it. Shion was just stupid."

"But now you're married!"

"He's still stupid. Don't do it."


	3. Tired

Nezumi and Shion let their weight be tugged by gravity's pull on their tired limbs, collapsing on the couch together. Safu and Jiro had been pieces of work at the dinner table an hour prior, flicking little pieces of food from their spoons across the room at each other and kicking one another's shin's underneath the small, round wooden surface, and _then_ promptly tackled each other in a kind of wrestling match on the floor in their room thirty minutes later, even after the lights had been turned off to signal it was their bedtime.

Startled by the banging noises and grunts of children play-fighting coming from the level above, Nezumi had stomped up the staircase with purpose (with Shion trailing mutely behind) and threw open the bedroom door, watching with faint amusement as both children jumped and paused their movements. If Nezumi wasn't already so tired and cranky, he would have found the sight laughable — Jiro almost pinning Safu to the floor with a handful of her silky-black hair in his fist and tugged slightly, Safu with both hands reached out to stretch his mouth in strange ways. They detangled themselves from each other as soon as they saw Nezumi's familiar murderous expression, even if he wasn't really _that_ mad. It was just enough to make them realize that he was _really_ tired, and they _really_ needed to stop and go to sleep now. Shion was a little more merciful, however, stepping in front of Nezumi with an equally tired, but caring smile as he gently offered, "Would you like me to read you both a bedtime story to get you more in the mood for sleep?" Two little heads nodded eagerly and raced back into their respective beds while Nezumi _tsk'd_ and disappeared down the staircase again.

It had really been a long day.

Shion sighed when he felt Nezumi's body follow him and landed right up against his back, both their legs sprawled out and slightly tangled over the edge of the couch. The white-haired man closed his eyes sleepily and mumbled in the pillow his face was pressed against, "We should really just go to our own bed or we'll accidentally fall asleep here…"

"I don't give a crap," Nezumi mumbled back, his own eyes shut while he leaned his head back up towards the ceiling. "I just want to sleep… don't care where it is…"

"Mmn…" Shion groaned quietly, feeling his body sink into the couch as he let his consciousness fade, though also partly by Nezumi's weight atop him. "We should… at least get a blanket or somethin'… t's cold…" he was too tired to care that his normally-perfect speech was becoming a slur of random words, just enough to get his idea across. At this point, he wanted to say as little words as possible.

"You get it," Nezumi replied quietly. "I can't move."

Shion let his ruby-red eyes reveal themselves at this, pouting up at his partner. "You can move, you just don't want to."

"Mm. Maybe."

Shion exhaled, realizing just how _much_ his body was being pressed into the cushions with his consciousness sluggishly returning. "You're heavy, Nezumi."

Nezumi said nothing. He didn't move an inch to remedy the situation, either.

Shion squirmed a little under him, just enough to be able to extend his arm and grab the folded up blanket next to the loveseat a couple feet away. With barely-open eyes, he looked to his exhausted husband and shook his arm a little. "Hey, come on Nezumi, move a little bit so I can cuddle with you better."

Nezumi released a rather loud, obnoxious groan. "Fine," he said, scooting a couple of inches and laying down more properly on the couch. "Jeez, just wanna sleep…"

"There, that's better." Shion smiled approvingly, then unfolded the blanket and joined him on the little space left of the couch, his back pressed up warmly against Nezumi's entire front in a classic spooning position. He lay the blanket over them as they made themselves comfortable, nuzzling the back of his head into Nezumi's collarbone area. Eyes closed sleepily through this whole process, Nezumi at least made the effort to toss an arm over Shion's side and cradled his body closer against him. This brought a satisfied smile to Shion's lips.

"I still think we should have moved to the bed, Nezumi." Shion muttered. He was already anticipating Nezumi to kick him out off the couch somewhere throughout the night with the very little space there was.

"_Goodnight, _Shion." Nezumi replied in his ear firmly.


	4. Affection

**Hey, everyone! Sorry for this chapter being so late. I was pretty dang busy this whole last week. I still have a million ideas for this crazy little family, so I couldn't possibly abandon this story, haha. Enjoy!**

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As soon as the front door opened and Jiro stepped inside his home, he wasted no time in pulling off his shoes and tossing them aside unceremoniously, adjusting his backpack over his shoulder and rushing towards the stairs. He didn't even halt when Shion's voice broke through from the kitchen.

"Oh good, Jiro, you're home. I made you some—where are you going?" The snow-haired man asked, blinking as he followed and watched his young adopted son disappear over the stair-steps.

"I'm gonna study, I don't want anything!" He called back, followed by an echoed slam of his bedroom door.

The commotion hadn't been lost to Nezumi's ears as he emerged from the bathroom, rubbing away any traces of dampness in his dark hair from the shower he'd just taken. He approached Shion and stood by him, also observing the uninviting shut door of the bedroom on the upper level.

"What's up with him?" Nezumi asked in a murmur, draping the towel over his shoulders, his hands on his hip and an elegantly raised eyebrow.

Shion shook his head. "I have no idea. He never rejects after-school snacks. He said he had to study."

Nezumi scoffed. "Awful liar. He never studies unless I threaten to confiscate his video games." He gave a sigh and a casual wave of his hand. "Well. I'll leave you to do what you do best." Just as he started toward the doorway of their own bedroom, Shion suddenly reached out and entangled his fingertips in Nezumi's still-warm hair, forcing him to pause mid-step and close his eyes over Shion's pleasant touch.

"Hey, you smell nice. Like flowers." Shion grinned.

"I don't smell like a girl. For your information, I found the manliest shampoo product yesterday. It says so on the bottle." He defended with a scowl.

"Mm." Shion ignored him, smiling softly, still caressing his fingers through the other's soft, oxford-blue locks, making sure to grasp a fistful of hair each time and watching how his partner's entire being melted in Shion's mercy.

"_Shiiion_, if you don't let go of my hair this instant, I won't be able to move ever again. Besides, you've got business to attend to. See what's going on with the little brat."

Shion chuckled. "I don't think it's very customary for a father to call his son a 'little brat.'"

"Hn." Nezumi waved another dismissing hand at him, then pulled away from Shion's angelic touch to turn and show him an unexpectedly warm smile before pressing a gentle kiss to Shion's cheek, close to his ear. He made sure to take his time there, allowing Shion to hug his arms around his shoulders and press himself so close, one would think he intended to meld them together. When Nezumi's lips brushed away from his skin and he pulled back just enough to look upon Shion's face, he chuckled deeply at the dreamy expression and his glazed ruby-red eyes. He traced the "snake" on his left cheek with a thumb, touching their noses together and coiling his arms tightly across Shion's mid-back.

"I can never control my actions around you. And it sucks, cause I know you're just doing this as an excuse to postpone talking to Jiro." Nezumi said, narrowing his eyes at the other.

Shion released a quiet laugh and pressed a chaste kiss to Nezumi's lips. "Maybe, maybe not. I was just thinking about how it's been a while since we've shared a little affection, what with having to give our attention to the kids a good portion of our time, so I'm satisfied. I'll go see what's wrong now." He laughed as Nezumi rolled his eyes at this response.

They detangled themselves from each other and Nezumi strolled toward their bedroom again. "If you still want some good old-fashioned 'affection' when you're done, feel free to come find me." Nezumi chuckled at Shion's small blush and eager smile to the offer, then closed the door behind him. Shion released a small sigh and any lingering lovey-dovey emotions with it, then made his own way up the stairs to the closed-off bedroom.

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**Wonder what's up with Jiro? Guess we'll find out next update. :D I just needed to write some pointless Nezushi fluff first. Aha.**


	5. Self-Confidence

Shion really did not know what to expect when he knocked on Jiro's bedroom.

"Go away!" came the demanding—trembling?—voice of the boy behind the wooden barrier. Well, he could have predicted that response, at least.

"Jiro? Are you all right?" Shion asked, purposefully making his voice as inviting and sweet as the coo of a dove. That usually worked on both of the children, like a magic spell to open up to him, whether confessing for something they even knew they would probably get in trouble for, or otherwise.

"I—I'm studying, don't bother me!" Jiro fretted. Shion tilted his head at the door, raising one eyebrow in both inquisition and suspicion.

"I'm coming in," Shion announced, despite the boy's protests. He turned the knob, silently remarking to himself that it was good there wasn't a lock, otherwise he wouldn't have gotten anywhere. When he stepped slowly into the room, his deep-red eyes landed on the curled up form of Jiro sitting at his desk, his knees tucked up into him all the way to his nose, one arm tucked in between said legs and his chest, and the other outstretched with a pencil in his grip, twirling it around his fingers defiantly atop his homework. It would have almost fooled Shion to believe that he really _was_ trying to study. However, the deep pink shade that was coating his cheeks and the tips of his ears was screaming otherwise.

Shion approached him casually, kneeling down beside him so he was having to lift his gaze up to see the boy from a side angle now. "What's the matter, Jiro? You seem pretty upset, did something happen at school today?" the man inquired softly. "You didn't get in another fight, did you?"

Jiro looked like he was about to explode any second with how red his face was progressively getting. It was starting to worry the man. Before his son could answer, he asked another question, "Are you getting a fever? You're very red." Ah, but he knew he had to stop the questioning there. Nezumi always told him how annoying his questions were. He was _always_ asking questions, always wanting answers to everything, it seemed—never giving the person on the receiving end the time to answer before they were presented with yet another question. Adopting children had been his first lesson to acquire more patience. He thought he'd always been a patient person back in the day, until Nezumi scolded him about his complete _lack_ of it so many years ago.

And so Shion sat there on the balls of his feet, his arms crossed over his knees in a similar fashion to his son, and waited patiently until the boy was ready to explain, like any good parent should.

His patience was rewarded after not too long.

"I… there's… there's a girl." Jiro began with a stammer. Shion tilted his head and nodded, smiling a little as an invitation to continue. Jiro saw this reaction in his peripheral, and somehow blushed even more furiously, if Shion had ever thought that possible. "We… I was picking fun at her for a while, but she never seemed bothered by me somehow. It always confused me, she confuses me… and… during recess today, she…" he ducked his head. "Kissed my cheek and smiled at me like I hadn't done or said a single thing wrong to her, even though the teachers always scolded me for it. She said she _liked_ me! I just kept thinking, 'What the hell, what the hell?! Why?'" Jiro was becoming more animated as he spoke, shaking his head over and over and clenching a fist into his short, dark-brown hair.

"Language," Shion half-sighed, half-chuckled. The 8-year-old boy seemed to act more and more like Nezumi with each day that passed, shamelessly cursing right and left. But back to the matter at hand. Honestly, Shion felt an incredible wave of relief wash over him. So it was just a girl; a little crush that was so unexpected that Jiro's world was starting to turn upside-down. Shion understood that feeling. He understood it too well. He was just so glad that it wasn't because of a serious fight or anything.

"She just thinks you're very handsome!" Shion teased with a happy smile.

"_No!_ Why does that matter to any girl? I'm a bad kid, Daddy. I tease people smaller than me. That's just what I do. I get a weird satisfaction from it. Why would any girl _like_ me? I'm awful…"

Shion stared up at the boy for a moment, astonished. "Well, at least you admit to your bad attitude…" he mumbled under his breath with another small chuckle.

"What are you laughing at?!" Jiro whirled, still blushing all kinds of shades of red. Shion continued laughing, though, reaching up and caressing his fingers through his hair. "You best calm your blush down, you're getting too hot." He smiled as Jiro paused and slightly relaxed under his careful touch. Shion brushed his thumb over Jiro's cheek, just as Nezumi sometimes does over his 'snake' scar. "Look, Jiro, does there really need to be a _reason_ that a girl likes you? Sometimes, things happen unexpectedly in life and we _can't_ really think of a reason why we really like a person, we just _know_ the feeling is there, and we know we want to be around them all the time. Even if they have a bad attitude a good portion of the time." Shion grinned, earning a small smack on his hand to keep Shion from petting him any more, and a deep pout over Jiro's lips. At least the blush was lessening.

Shion continued, "The fact is, Jiro, you're _not_ an awful person. This girl obviously sees something special in you, and it's not just her. If anyone looks closely enough, anyone could tell that you really are a very kind and considerate person. Nezumi and I would still very much prefer that you stop teasing people smaller than you, though. And I'm sure that you will eventually, a lot of boys your age go through this phase where you feel like you need to be the boss of everyone around you to give yourself confidence, which is why you feel that 'weird satisfaction' from it, as you put it. I know the concept of anyone, much less a girl, _liking _you is a little frightening to you at first, but you're still young. You have lots of time to gain experience and discover things about yourself and what you feel for others. This girl likes you for who you are, and maybe because at some point in time, she saw you let your defenses down when you thought no one was noticing, and she saw the real you, and she liked what she saw. Do you think you like her, too?"

Jiro shook his head, clenching the ends of his forest-green sweater. "I don't know… this is all new to me."

Shion smiled. "Of course. But I assure you, Jiro, instead of bullying others around you, you can feel equally as 'high and mighty' if you act more like the caring big brother that I know you really are. Help others. Express your kindness and your hand to those younger than you, and you'll be looked up to. I think, when you really get to the root of your feelings, that's what you want more than anything, right? To be a leader, or a role model."

Jiro contemplated this. He finally didn't look shamed to exile anymore as he thought over Shiro's words with genuine interest. That _was_ what he really wanted, now that he thought about it more deeply…

"And Jiro," Shion called his attention back to him, still smiling that everlasting, warm smile that brought just as much comfort to him as his words. "Once you do open up your true self like that, maybe you'll find that being admired by someone or being liked is not really a bad thing at all. Consider this girl as the first step." With that, Shion stood from his place on the floor and ran a hand through the boy's hair again. "Nezumi and I are with you every step of the way, we love you very much."

"Mm…" Jiro nodded slightly, shifting his gaze away, slightly bashful. "Uhm… thanks. A lot, daddy. Really."

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**Hooooo, this one turned out longer than expected, aha. I hope it was worth the wait. The relationships between this family kills me, I love writing out character-developing conversations like this. Until next update!**


	6. Nighttime Comfort

It was two in the morning when Nezumi abruptly awoke due to two wild kids shrieking, followed by a rather loud _thud_.

The man sighed heavily, his weight falling back on his pillow as he stared at the ceiling. What in God's name could be they be doing at this hour? He turned to look at Shion, but his partner appeared to be still sound asleep. Nezumi released another exasperated breath. It was up to him, then.

Nezumi glided out of the bed so slowly and smoothly, like it was made out of glass, in order not to awaken his dreaming companion. His footsteps padded softly across the carpeted floor and out of the bedroom, up the stairs, and then finally standing in front of the door of the noisy kids. The man yawned and rubbed at an eye and reached for the knob, but paused and tensed. He was a little startled when he didn't hear fits of giggles, but instead… _whimpering_. From them _both. _

Turning the knob and pushing the door open, he saw that the lamp between the two beds was switched on, and both the children were huddled together on Jiro's bed, their little cheeks damp with tear streams. Both of their small faces looked up at Nezumi with such utter _relief_.

"Hey, hey… what's the matter?" Nezumi asked softly, sauntering over to the bed and kneeling on the end of it. He gave a lovingly-concerned look as a silent ask for an explanation.

"Th-there's… a monster… in this room, Dad… ghosts!" Jiro sobbed, holding his little sister closer against him.

Nezumi tilted his head at them and shook his head. "There's no such thing as—" he cut himself off with another look at his children, who were hugging each other tighter and tighter as the minutes passed, it seemed, like they would eventually just sink into each other.

Nezumi sighed. "All right… what did you see?" He inquired gently.

"Th-there was a black shadow… it was really big, it was even darker than dark… a-and, we both saw it move acros-s the floor and under Safu's bed… so I told her to come here…" Jiro explained, his voice still noticeably shaking.

Nezumi listened patiently as he sat on the edge of their bed in a casual position, his hands lying gracefully on top of each other in his lap. He closed his eyes and smiled a little, letting out a single breath of an inner chuckle, then got up and started exploring the room without hesitation. Jiro and Safu watched him in the midst of their quiet whimpers, hoping to everything that they wouldn't witness a giant, shadowed and clawed hand reaching out and grabbing Nezumi's leg and dragging him under the bed or something of the sort.

"Hmm," Nezumi strode around the room boldly, first checking under Safu's bed, then Jiro's, then their closet, each time saying in between, "Nope, not here!" in a strangely cheerful voice. He also tossed a playful grin to the children over his shoulder each time. He figured, with the state the kids were in, it would be good to put his acting skills to use and make sure they cheer up a little by the end of his expedition.

It worked. By the time Nezumi had finished exploring every hidden corner of the room he could think of, Safu and Jiro were holding fists to their lips and trying to keep in giggles. Nezumi put his hands to his hips, proud of himself.

"Well, I didn't find a single bad, scary monster, my dears." He announced, his voice taking on that of a woman's as he briefly went into Eve's character. Then, returning to his normal voice, he said, "Maybe you just saw one of the mice. Particularly Tsukiyo. He can be a sneaky little thing."

"No, but the shadow was _huuuge!_" Jiro exclaimed, letting go of Safu to raise his limbs up and palms flat out above his head to emphasize the imagery. "It was like a portal to the other side or something!"

"Yeah, and what if it comes back when you go away, Dad…?" Safu asked quietly, clutching at her older brother's nightshirt. She suddenly looked like she was about to cry again.

Nezumi's arms dropped to his sides, and he exhaled a tired breath, almost defeated sounding. He thought for a moment on what he could do. It had to be nearing 2:15 in the morning now, and he knew he was so dead tired he could collapse and sleep on their floor that moment, but it didn't feel right to him to tuck them into bed again and leave, knowing that they were still frightened and anticipating whatever it was to make a hasty return. They definitely wouldn't get to sleep at all, and it wouldn't be good for their health.

Coming to a decision, Nezumi offered his hands to them. "Come. Let's go downstairs." Not questioning it, Safu, with a cat plush hugged in one of her arms, and Jiro, detangled and scrambled out of the bed, running to their father's side and taking hold of his bigger hands. They exited the room and slowly descended the stairs into the living area, where Nezumi deposited them on the couch and told them to wait there a few minutes, disappearing into the kitchen.

It was two in the morning, and Nezumi was making them all hot cocoa, he realized as he stood in the kitchen and turning the burner on to heat the milk, stirring the liquid absentmindedly. He honestly found that he didn't mind that much, though. Usually it was Shion that did these sorts of things, but… he was rather enjoying himself, knowing he was also very much capable of cheering up his kids with something simple like this. He didn't really want to get used to having to do it every night, though.

Once he was finished brewing up the cocoa, he walked back into the living room with the mugs in each hand. Jiro had his knees pulled up to his chest with his cheek resting on his folded arms on top of them with a bored expression, and Safu was petting the fake fur of her cat doll, making sure it was in perfect shape, no matter what. Nezumi smiled a little and handed the mugs to them, then grabbed his own cup and sat down in between them on the sofa.

"Drink up, but don't spill them." Nezumi warned as he watched both the children's' faces lit up instantaneously at the sight of the sweet, brown treat in their hands. As Nezumi stared down into his own mug, he couldn't help but remember that this was what Shion gave him when he first met him that stormy night all those years ago. He'd never really had the pleasure of drinking cocoa before that time. He could never forget the taste of warmth and comfort that simple cup of cocoa brought him, and so he hoped it had the same effect on his children tonight.

"Dad, are you still going to make us go back up to our room after this?" Jiro asked slowly, then took a large gulp of the drink. He didn't want to go back up to that room tonight. He had a feeling Safu was thinking the same thing with the way she paused drinking and instead nervously fidgeted with a paw of her cat plushie, awaiting Nezumi's answer.

Nezumi contemplated that. His eyelids were getting droopy again, and as he finished the last sips of his cocoa, he felt his consciousness fading little by little. It was way too much effort to usher both kids up the stairs again and tuck them into bed and probably sing them a lullaby to help them sleep and, just… it was too much work.

"No," he answered finally. "I'm not going to make you go back up if you don't want to. We can stay right here."

"Okay." Jiro replied. They were already finished downing their drinks and set the mugs on the floor for the time being. Safu was the first to snuggle up against Nezumi, immediately closing her eyes and hugging her plushie under her chin. Her breathing steadied as he coiled an arm around her and she felt his cheek lean against the top of her head, enveloping her almost completely in warmth and safety. Nezumi looked towards Jiro, who rested his chin on his knees again, seemingly deep in his thoughts.

"Hey," Nezumi whispered to him, and the addressed turned. The man smiled tiredly, and reached out his hand to grab the boy by the waist and pull him in closer. Jiro opened his mouth like he was about to protest, but soon closed it and let himself gradually sink into his father's chest. "Time to sleep now, you two…" Nezumi mumbled, but Safu was already long gone, and Nezumi and Jiro weren't far behind her.

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Shion had awoken around seven in the morning, blinking curiously over the empty space on the bed next to him. Nezumi was gone? He never got up as early as Shion did.

Shrugging out of bed, the white-haired man padded to the door and entered the living room, his body and his thoughts suddenly stopping. His heart thudded with overflowing love for the scene before him — Nezumi, Jiro, and Safu, all sprawled out on the couch together in deep slumber. Jiro and Safu's positions had definitely changed overnight into none-too-graceful ones, but Nezumi's hold around them had never wavered. Jiro was snoring, though, and he had one hand reached all the way up against Nezumi's cheek, and Safu was curled up in a loose ball, a little drool reaching the edge of her mouth. She had dropped her plushie on the floor sometime during the night. Shion was sure he looked like idiot, as Nezumi would definitely remark, with an incredibly soft and happy grin spreading over his lips as he raised a hand up to hide it and hold back chuckles of adoration.

Quiet as he possibly could, Shion traipsed toward the group and pulled out a large blanket from beside one of the loveseats, and draped it across the three. There wasn't even so much as a stir from any of them. He picked up the empty mugs with cocoa stains in the exteriors and went into the kitchen to wash them off and start making breakfast for his little family that he found he just could not stop loving so dearly.

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**One of my favorite head canons that me and my friend came up with. This was a ton of fun to write, I found myself grinning almost the entire way through! R&R. Until next update!**


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